B16A2NR Posted January 7, 2005 Author Share Posted January 7, 2005 Heres a macro shot of the bumpers installed on the glass. This barrier between water and light source not only protects the halide buy also keeps most of the heat inside the canopy, while allows air/water contact and evaporation to occur. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Looking good, Todd...the tank that is, not you. haha. Can't wait to see what it looks like stocked. Link to comment
qfour20 Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Very slick UV shield. I really look forward to seeing this tank stocked. Have you tested the halide in this new configuration to ensure that you won't melt the acrylic hood? -q Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Put the tank over your head for the ultimate in facial protection. :ninja2: Question for the U.V. Glass.. If its 97% u.v. protectant, will any damage occur long term to your specimens being as they will be exposed to the U.V rays at 3% intensity? Meh.. its probably just like the sun to them. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 if it works, it'll be a reall neat tank... if it doesn't ... ouch! i'm concerned about tank temperature and warping acrylic, but i'm sure you are too gl! Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 8, 2005 Author Share Posted January 8, 2005 gl, I have a huge concern for temp and acrylic problems. I soldered all of the wiring and taped it up last night. Ran the halide for close to 10 minutes. I felt the top of the canopy for issues of heat and the inside top after the ballast was unplugged. The temp wasn't close to melting the acrylic, however just to be safe I am going to put a piece of 1/8" thick foamcore board wrapped in tinfoil for fire safety between the bulb and canopy underneath the reflector. This should protect the closest part of the canopy from the bulb. Heres a pic of the bulb fired up and the fan running. Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 9, 2005 Author Share Posted January 9, 2005 Heres my method of tracking an accurate temperature in the 3 1/2. This has to be the 5th Coralife digital thermometer I have purchased. It has to be one of the best deals in the aquarium industry. I bought mine for something like $8 at marine depot. As you can see it is mounted on the pedistal of the tank. Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 9, 2005 Author Share Posted January 9, 2005 Heres a pic of my aquaclear mini hob filter. This is going to be my main filtration besides live rock and live sand. I have taken out filter median and mounted a 6" fully submersable heater, and temperature probe inside the filter. As you might already know the aquaclear mini doesn't have 6" of height to house the heater. So I modified it cutting a circle through the top allow the upper portion of the heater and wiring to stick out the top. Doing so keeps my tank free of a heater, and temp probe. The only visible thing in the aquarium is a small intake tube going to the hob filter. My plan is to run a cycle of purogen, phosguard, and active carbon that will be rotated every two weeks, along with a basic filter floss. Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 I like the custom DIY heater customness. Are you still going to put in 6 yellow tangs? because i think 4 should do it. PICS!!! Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 10, 2005 Author Share Posted January 10, 2005 Thanks SS, I am so excited! Everything is complete! Heres a shot of the hood, I adjusted the parabolic reflector to aim the light better. Also if you look in the top two corners there are aluminum curves. I noticed my fan had a hard time circulating around that 90 degree corner, so I made these and I tested it with smoke to see if it made a difference and the flow improved dramaticly. Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 IN ALL HER GLORY! I love the shimmers of metal halide! I don't think I can ever go back to PC's. My last nano had about 10 electrical cords, and my propagation system has about 15. This one has 4. Theres only one thing left to do, build a bad ass reef. Link to comment
brianemone Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 thats gunna look pruty Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Clean, clean, clean. You could probably make and sell that hood setup to overanxious nano-reefers for a grip of cash. Wipe them bubbles gone! Keep up the good workizzle, for shizzle.. Nick Link to comment
ReefMonkeee Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 that's sum nice lighting effects lolz. Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Originally posted by B16A2NR Truvu is a very reputable acrylic dealer and makes tanks and canopys much stronger than Marineland. I second that. Not slamming marineland, but the last 3 canopies we have ordered from them looked really bad. The top flap would not sit flush with the top of the tank, the wood was warped on all three, and the hinge system was about on par with using a pencil and 2 thumbtacks. Truvu on the other hand is da bomb! Never had a canopy return in my time from truvu. Quality supplies. Marineland makes good eclipse tanks (challenging for reef due to flourescent light and inability to house any number of PC's reliably) dont get me wrong, but if you want to step up, go TruVu Link to comment
timb000 Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 cant wait for you to start stocking the tank bro. It looks like your gonna have a blast with this tank! Keep us updated Link to comment
The Speez Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 hey b16...I had the same tank running for 2 years under 30 watts P.C and it was awsome.... the only different was that I built a custom overflow and had it running on a 20 gallon sump complete with refugium and protien skimmer. check it out! Link to comment
brianemone Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 yuo had a20g sump for that??? Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 Damn a 20 gallon sump, fuge, and skimmer for a 3.5 gallon tank? I would think that would be a little overboard as far as nutrient export goes. I was thinking about doing a sump system for this tank but decided against it since I stuffed all my filtration, heater, and probe into the hob. Heat is an issue with this tank. Running the light all day brought me up to 83.5 degrees. I decided to turn my fan up from 6v to 9v. Hopefully this counters my heat issues. If not I will be forced to add a 2nd fan exhausting out, or going with a mini chiller. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 lovin the little tank...ive been seeing alot of those in the bay area Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 B16, Sounds like the 3.5 is becoming the new nano fad. lol. My tank clocked in at 89.8 degrees a few days ago, and about 93 degrees about a month ago. I didnt lose anything except the xenia started to shrink. My salt is probably at 1.070 (last time I topped off was before my trip to Socal) and everything is still alive running off of nothing but natural daylight. I dont recommend that but Im sure if you acclimated slow, they could tolerate 83.5 consistently. Corals are easy ! Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Today was a hot day.. 90.3 My fault nonetheless.. Link to comment
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